Disciple of War Disciple of War (Art of the Adept #4) - Michael G. Manning Page 0,18

for turyn. In time, it will adjust, but to speed that process you have to train your body. You’ll learn to survive with less, and gradually you’ll also start to absorb turyn from the environment.”

“That’s ludicrous!” she spat. “How long will that take?”

“I told you. A month for this compression, then we move on to the second and the third. The length of time it takes between each depends on how well you adapt, but I’m guessing that you’re in for a rough six or seven months—at least.”

Her anger seemed to fade, and desperation took its place. “Just take the source-cage off this one time! Let me get a good night’s sleep and then you can start torturing me for months and months. Please.”

“You know what happens in the spring. We have nine months at most,” Will reminded her. “I have to make sure you’re finished before I have to leave.” A snarl rose in her throat, and Will paralyzed her before she could attack him again. “Get some sleep,” he told her. “I’ll be right here, watching over you as you sleep and wake and sleep again.”

The only response he got was another surge of anger through the link.

Chapter 6

Selene’s first week was pure misery, much as he’d expected, and by the end of it she still wasn’t sleeping through the night. She had to survive on short stretches of an hour or so before waking again to get her source back under control. Sleep deprivation didn’t make her any more pleasant to be around, either. Especially when Will informed her it was time to begin exercising.

“I still can’t sleep,” she complained. “You expect me to run around the house? Are you daft?”

“You don’t need sleep to be able to exercise,” he responded calmly.

“Listen, you mentally deficient ape, I barely have enough energy to walk across the room. I’m not about to run around,” she snarled.

“You don’t have any energy because your body is starved for turyn. Exercise will help force it to adapt. It isn’t pleasant, but it’s necessary.”

“I’m not doing it.”

Will was grateful for the heart-stone enchantment now. When he’d been at that stage of his training, Arrogan had motivated him with beatings, frequently administered in sessions that were thinly disguised as martial exercises with the staff. He doubted he would have had been able to do the same with Selene. “Get up and follow me outside. That’s an order.”

Furious, she did so, her body obeying his commands despite her defiance. He watched her carefully as they went down the stairs. Being turyn starved alone was enough to make her clumsy, and sleep deprivation only made matters worse. He caught her wrist when she stumbled and was rewarded with a hiss that promised retribution.

“Focus all your attention on what you’re doing. In your current state, you can’t allow yourself to be distracted, so if you’re walking, keep your mind on what your feet are doing. The same goes for any physical activity.”

Selene gave him an acid stare. Once they were outside, she followed his instructions despite obviously not desiring to cooperate. She had jogged for only a couple of minutes with him before stumbling and nearly planting her face against the ground. “This is impossible!”

“You can do it,” he said encouragingly. “But you have to focus all your attention on your movements. You can’t spare any thoughts for other things.”

“I was thinking about what I’m going to do to you when I’m free of this damned enchantment,” she threatened. “But even if I don’t think about that, it’s still impossible. I just don’t have the turyn. My body feels like it’s made of lead.”

He shook his head. “You don’t need turyn to move. You only think you do. Turyn makes it easier, makes thinking easier, but it isn’t necessary. You just have to keep your mind only on what you’re doing.”

She was already moving awkwardly, unable to resist the command, but she bit back, “How would you know?”

“I’ve been through this,” he reminded her, which brought another growl from her direction. Will sighed. It was going to be a long day. “No more complaints,” he ordered.

He tried to approximate the amount of exercise that Arrogan had forced on him when he had been going through the same part of his training, but it was difficult, as there were a number of confounding factors. The first of those was the fact that memory is an inherently flawed faculty. His memory of those days had been colored by the